The Kimball graphic. (Kimball, Brule County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1905, 1887-11-04
! lazy bone in your body. Don't ]

q lazy bone In your body. Uof.t !
know that well? But look now: i'll
were to pay you thirty, l Should have
to pay all the other hewers thirty.
and that's not all. Scorers and
teamsters and r~oad-cutters are used
to getting wages in proportion to
hewers. Why, it would cost me a
thousand dollars amonth to give you
thirtyl Go along now, that's a good
fellow, and tell your wife that you've
hired with me-"
But Peter did not go back. ppm
bound to have my rights, SO l am"
he said sulkily. to Mary Ann when he
reached his cabin. 1.-THE old boss is
getting too hard like, and too set on
money. Twenty-Five dollars! No!
I'll go in to Stambrook and hire"
Mary Ann knew that she might as
well try to convince a saw-log that its
proper course was up stream as to
protest against Peters obstinacy.
Moreover, she did think the
offered wages very low. and had
some hope he might better himself;
but when he came back from Siam
brook, she saw trouble ahead. He
did not tell her that there, where his
merits were not known, he had been
offered only twenty dollars. but she
surmised his disappointment.
You'd better be after seeing the
boss again, maybe, Peter, DEAR" she
said, timidly.
Not a step" he answered. 1.-THE
bossM be after me in a fewdays, you'll
see." But there he was mistaken, for
all the gangs were full.
. l,A TAa. Nf-C,.4L ...l
far and wide, to many a backwoods
hamlet, looking vainly for q Job at
any wages. The eason vas the worst
ever known on the river. and before
January the shanties were discharg.
ing men. so threatening was tho out
look for lumbermen, and SO glutted
with timber the markets OF the world.
Peters conscience accused him every
hour, but he was too stubborn to 90
back to John Pontiac. Indeed, he
soon got it into his stupid head that
the old boss was responsible for his
misfortunes, and he consequently
came to hate Mr.. Pontiac very bitter
ly.
After supping on his pipeful OF to-
bacco-dust, Peter sat, stralght-back-
ed, leaning elbows on knees and chin
on hands, wondering what ON earth
was to become of them all next day.
For a MAI out OF work there was not
a dollar OF credit at the little village
store; and work! why, there was only
one kind OF work at which money
could be earned in that district in
winter.
When his wife took number Eleven's
cradle into the other room, she heard
him, through the thin partition OF up.
right boards. pasted over with news
papers. moving round in the dun red,
Pickering light from the stove grating.
The children were all asleep or pre-.
tending it; Number Ten, in the big
straw bed, where she lay always be-
twsen her parents; Number Eleven in
her cradle beside; Nine crosswise at
the foot; Eight, Seven, Six. Five and
four in the other bed; one. Two and
Three curled up, without taking off
their miserable garments, on clocks
Mary Ann knew very well what Pc
ter vas moving round for. She heard
him groan, so low that he did not
know he groaned, when he lifted off
the cover of the meal barrel, and could
feel nothing whatever therein. She
had actually beaten the meal out of
the cracks to make that last pot OF
mush. He knew that all the fish he
had sailed down in the summer were
gone, that the flour was all out. that
the last morsel of the pig had been
eaten up long ago. but he went to each
OF the barrels Us though he could not
realize that there was really nothing
left. There were four OF those low
groans.
''Oh God, help him! Do help! please
do!' she kept saying to herself. Some
way, all her sutferings and the chill
dren's were so light to her.in COMPARE
son, as she listened to that big, tact
turn man groan, and him sore with
the hunger!
When at last she came out, Pc.
ter was not there. He had gone out
silently. SO silently thatshe wondered,
and was scared. She opened the door
very softly, aud there he a leaning
on the rail fence between their little
rocky plot and the great river. Size
closed the door as softly, and sat
down.
There vas a wide steaming space in
the river, where the current a too
swiftly for any ice to form. Peter
gazed on it q long while. The INST
had a friendly look; he was soon re.
minded of the steam from an i'm
mense bowl of mush! 1t vexed him.
He looked up at the moon. The
moon was certainly knocking him;
dashing through light clouds. then
jumping out into a wide, clear space,
II v,harn II cnnn hapon,n n,ofynplnSS q nd
Knocked HIM steadily.
He had never known old John Ponti-
acto jee"any one, but there was his face
clearly. He looked up the road to
where he could see, on the hill half a
mile distant, the simmer of John
Pontiac's big, tin-rooted house. He
thought he could make out the out
lines OF all the buildings She knew
, them so well,-the big barn, the sta,
Bile, the smokehouse, the storehouse
for shantv supplies.
Pork barrels, flour barrels. herring
, kegs, syrup kegs, sides OF frozen beef,
hams and hitches OF bacon in the
smokehouse, bag OF beans. chests o.
tea-he had had q vision OF them all
Transfers going off TO the woods
daily with provisions, the supply ap
parentlyinexhaustible.
a And John Pontiac had refused c
pay him fair wages!
, Peter in evaporation shook his biz
fist at the moon; it Knocked him worse
,, than ever. Then out to the space o.
7 mist-it was still more painfully like
: mush steam. His pig-sty was empty
! except OF snow; 1t made HIM think
!. again OF the empty barrels In the cab
in.
The children empty too, or would
: be to.morrow-as empty rs he tell
. that MANIFESTATIONS adumbly the e de
~ - ' &c: "a: a: q;
Pseg mNseain up the hill
! through fkeswalls OF the s%torehouse
. He was dreadfully hungry.
John! john" Mrs. Pontiac logged
her husband. John, wake up'There''
n somebody trying to get into tn,
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